I had the pleasure to meet Marci Harnischfeger, a registered dietitian at ShopWell. We both spoke at the Nutrition and Aging: A National Summit. I learned first hand about her company and the neat things they are doing to assist people in making smart shopping decisions.
Of course they have an app(Healthy Diet & Grocery Food Scanner)
and you should download it as experimenting with it will show you how it works.
Here is a little more about using the website.
Creating a ShopWell profile is your first step towards understanding how well a food fits your nutritional needs. The ShopWell scoring system combines respected nutrition guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM)*, the USDA, and peer-reviewed medical research journals with the knowledge and experience of Registered Dietitians. By specifying your age, gender, medical condition or personal preferences, you will receive a score that is uniquely yours.
A Searchable Food Database
With over 40,000 products and growing, they have an extensive collection of foods that you can search. Products come from the USDA National Nutrient Database and from Kwikee®, a respected information database for the food and beverage industry that is constantly updated as new products are added to the market. If you don’t see a product you’d like to know more about, let them know.
Customized Food Scores & Info
They customize food scores and information based on the profile information you provide. Foods are scored on a scale of 0-100 and color coded as Strong Match (70-100) strong match for you, Medium Match (40-69) medium match for you and Weak Match (0-39) weak match for you.
Suggested Alternatives
They suggest “Other Products You Might Like” that score well for your profile and are similar to the product you’re viewing.
Easy-to-Create Lists
ShopWell lists provide a place for you to save interesting products that you’ve found. Create lists for favorite foods, good snacks for toddlers or products you want to avoid. Or make shopping lists to take with you to the grocery store so that you can start bringing healthy products home to your family.
Healthy Eating made Simple!
Finding healthy foods doesn’t have to be complicated. With the help of ShopWell, all you have to do is create a profile. From there, they’ll provide personalized food scores and information that are relevant to you as an individual with unique preferences and needs.
Combine that with the app and you are good to go.